Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-11-25
HIS LAST WORDS.
Full Text Of the Last Advice of the
Late John B. Finch, at
Lynn, Mass.
4 Mastery and Thoroughly Charac
teristic Presentation of Pc.
litical Issues.
The Need Of Separate Action by Prohi.
bitionists Delinquencies of the
Old Parties.
from the Voice,

The last speech of John B. Finch, made
on the night of his death, was one Of his
most characteristic, mastery efforts. There
is the true Finch ring from beginning to
end. The following is the stenoerapher's
unabridged report:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It gives me the
greatest pleasure to again visit LYNN. and ca
pc tally SO rs have heard of the wonderful
Woik gong on in your city in the last few weeks
lmnder the direction Of Cheves and Beaucham p)
, me party which I represent believes in ali
lines OF educational work in order to prepare
and er YER by the people Of the people
menu lies in the morals and intelligence of the
great masses of the people who record their
epinlon at the ballot-box; so tonight SIX yon
10 10 travel over in measure familiar ground,
fesause the oftener we go back to primary
principles the nearer We will get right.
H., barly IN tne history OF the Republic the pub
nc DaIroom was 80 apparent as q political force
shat II was found necessary to take means to
l,epress 1t. AS school of vice and crime its
mes me. wa. war was made upon it. Our forefathers
1elt that o government of the people must rest
Upon me intelligence and morals of the people.
Ihey saw that the groeshop beggared woman.
hood and childhood, SO they reached down a
restraining hand on these vicious tendencies.
ti N 1857 the people had become so alarmed that
am here to soy that if the civil war had not in
tervoned there would not have been a legalized
Darroom to-day in this country. But at that
anosne or eyi came t. the front It bee anne
hand on the throat of this Republic; and then
al other conditions stood to one side.
An ancient writer has said that the moral
men OF nation are its patriots. The bad men
are us bounty jumpers and dead beats. The
bad men stayed back. When the cannon fired
NJ bod 'ae tSot vas aa not a. church
pulse. There were churches wanting their
pastors. there were .school-h houses Without
s sh,l out did you know of a single grog
S1' that shut up on account Of war? No.
Ihats the time when vice fourished. Why?
Because the moral men were at the front
ana Al when ut last peace settled over the repub-
nc the grogshops had increased, and they
throttled the law in five States, It was at that
time that the Brewers Congress came into ex-
istence
1.-THE war closed, and the bows came back.
Then what? The Temperance men looked for
their movement, and it was gone They then
called the attention of the leading men Of this
5G 5ne that the and
men said In regard to this thing, we know
tina that you are right, but you must wait until we
R reconstruGted the South Did we protest
No. we said, we will wait until you have set
tied the Southern question: Even when they
put drinking men on their tickets, we voted for
have this political paper to-day, and it's not
worth five cents on the political dollar. Loud
applause.l
The negligence of statesmen is the oppor-
suulIy Ol uomabOSu0S Ge0Cl0men, will
never cure a cancer by putting plaster over it.
and If competent physician doesn't go to the
root quack will try his hand, and he will be
TAKEN sick here in this e Yoa es or
physician. No one presents himself. A quack
makes his appearance and offers his services
you are ready to look anywhere for help. This
country has become again and again sick, be-
cause our physicians don't do anything, See,
as saw in Chicago, q bomb thrown and seven
dead DOllcHmpn I'M mfr he h,,rc fir,1
and i'll st. Louis men shot down in the railroad
strike. and tell me there is nothing the matter
labor, prohibition, and monopoly questions
have got to be met
The farmers of the West went up to Con-
gress and said: We want to have q chance
to put our pork on the market at rates we can
live upon. Mr.. Stanford witness in the
Pacific Railroad Investigation said that his
would bear So you see that if corn should
rise the farmer does not get the benefit. The
railroads raise the price of transportation.
This same Stanford in u United States Court
refused to answer what he spent 5000 for !;
when the evidence was very strong that it went
for bribery he forgot, And when the Court was
prosecuting attorney, it replied that it could
not. The farmers of the West of this country
have got done making Jay Gould or Stanford
millionaires. and they are done putting such
rutherford B. Hayes withdrew the troops
from the South, and said reconstruction is ac-
lueu Iuo temperance people Went
and said to the Leading, men, Settle this
question now Would not you have thought
that ,t they rso would have ~ attended then?
Will n undo saul ali We HeVe aone US And
80 through their putting it off the country to-
day stands face to face with great social, in
dustrial, and labor problem.
When government raises moro money from
its people than it needs, it's poor government.
How do existing parties stand to-day? Mr.. Car
Isle says one thing Mr.. Randall another DEM
ncrlta Of (IeOrpja WDntel thing. n
chusetts another. Can you tell me how license
Democrat of this State can pull i'll the harness
with Il Prohibition one Of Georgia? Can you
tell me how Prohibition Republican of Iowa
stand cheek by jowl with a rum one of
Illinois. who demands that no laws shall be
made in regard to Sunday sellingp The plat
forms of tho parties read both ways If YOU
have seen q plank that did not have many
sides as rolling pin, would like to see it.
"a Republican once said to me. L want you
to understand that we saved the country I
said, am glad that you did. but you don't
seem to realize it and want to keep on saving
it, TS e a %na going gd to
going to do for my boy" Tho political orguni-
cations that govern have their tails foremost
put off. The labor question, the temperance
question, and the monopoly question must be
met; and you cannot wiggle out of it. There's
no law more general than this one: that every
political privilege tukes with 1t duty.
Don't forget that there are no rights without
duties. The men of Massachusetts once said
we grant Gn0t you ure klIlS Du6 IL your OuGy
to govern US. and investigate oil public wrongs
and abuses And when George III. refused,
they said that q failure to perform political
your Declaration Of Independence means. They
took the crown from the head of the king, and
placed it upon the voters of this country, and
we inherited its duties. The rights of freemen
take the duties of freemen. A man once told
mo that he had not voted for ten years. said
that would not advertise myself as q political
dead beat. The Government asks that you
should investigate and put on record Your
opinion. / do believe that in these Eastern
States political dead-headism is the curse of
the country. And it rests chiefly upon the good
mon and business mon. Public opinion is col
lected i'll the ballot-box one day in the year. A
mans ballot is his honest and conscientious
only hts right but his duty to investigate. An
election is simply q trial of issues, aud it is u
mans duty TO vote. nm not saying how you
should vote, bat vote as your reason dictates.
A man once sud to me, belong to the Repub-
lcun party 1 told him that the party had q
pretty poor piece of property. don't belong to
any party. nn II member of party, and
when my party wggles and twists on great
question, will get out of it, and help lick it.
evils, would you not choose the least? l said:
'Mhut? Say that again then said: 'Suppos-
ing you went into q restaurant and asked for II
gluss of lemonade and wante all egg in it, and
the proprietor should say: Il have but two eggs
one is rotten and the other spoiled-which
will you have?" What would you say to him?'
After scratching his head he said Il think 1
again Great laughter Now, politically, had
you not better wait until u new egg is laid
The most damnable doctrine that is in exist
ence to stand upon is, Between two evils choose